Label-wiping device



Feb. 13, 1923.

- '1,445,323 J. E. JOHNSUN ETAL. f

LABEL WIPING DEVICE. FILED MAR.22,1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

Feb. 13, 1923.

' 1. E. JOHNSON ET AL.

LABEL wlPlNG DEVICE.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

FILED MAR. 22, 1919.

Feb. 13, 1923. 1,445,32E. 1. E. JOHNSON ET AL.

LABEL WIPING DEVICE.

FILED r11/m22. |919. 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3..

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Feb. 13, 1923..

LMZl. L. E. JOHNSON ET AL.

LABEL WLPLNG DEVICE. FILED MAR. 22, 1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

Patented Feb. 13, 192s.-

Nrrso sares- LABEL-WIPING DEVICE.

Application led March 22, 1919. Serial No. 284,316.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN EMANUEL JOHNSON land CHARLES H. OSLND,citizens of the United States, residing at Worcester, in the county ofWorcester and State of assachusetts, have invented a new and usefulLabel-Wiping Device, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a machine for wiping labels around an articleas for example a cylindrical can.

The principal objects of the invention are to provide a labeling deviceof the type in which the articles to be labeled are carried along oraround on a traveling conveyor with simple and effective means forwlnding a label all the way around the can or other article to belabeled; also to provide this means in the form of brushes or the likefixed in stationary position and to spread the label around the articlebythe movements of the article itself. The invention also involvesimprovements in the mechanism for holding, turning and releasing the canortheflike. and inthe means for supporting; and adjusting the wipingbrushes and thel brushes themselves.

Reference sito lie had to thevaccompanying drawingsliin which Q21 Fig'.1 is a' pl'aniof a labeling machine of the rotary. ty-p'econstructed'.'in,y accordance with this invention; i l

Fig. 2 isa diagrammatic plan showing the application of a'label to a canon this machine;

Fig. 3 is a the can;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation ofthe can holding, rotating and releasingmeans and connected parts;

Fig. 5 is abpllan of the same;

ig. 6 is a central sectional view can-holding head ;k

Fig. is a similar porting base;

ig. 8 is a side view of the means for operating the can holding andreleasing device shown in Fig. 4;,

Fig. 9 is a rear or outside-view of the main wiping brush and its,vsupporting mechanism Fig. 1l is a sectional, viiziotlxgedline -plan ofthe geariirg for rotating of the view of the can supplan of the 'withparts tion.

This invention is shown as applied to a type of labeling machineLillustrated in several ot our prior patents.

I n this class of machines the cans or other articles are brought to themachine on an endless conveyor 10 and delivered from that by a turret 11to a rotating table 12 mounted to turn on a central vert1cal axis andhaving. a horizontal supporting surface for the cans. They go around onthe table in the general manner set forth in our other patents and aredelivered from it by another turret 13 to the same conveyor 10 oranother as may be desired. The construction and operation of theconveyor and turrets do not constitute a part of this invention. Thisinvention is not limited to the use of a rotary table.

The rotary table 12 in this instance is shown as provided with eightstations at which the cans to be labeled are applied to the table andsupported duringits operation. form shown herein the table is providedwith a depression at 14 for each of these stations. This has a centralcylinder 15 depending below it in the bore of which is supported arotatable shaft 16 having enlargements which lit the bore and adapted tobe adjusted vertically by a screw 17 or the like. This shaft carries onit a freely rotatable plate 18 which is provided with a concentriccircular convex projection 19 on which the can to be labeled isdeposited and by which it is supported in a freely rotatable manner.

Under the table is located a stationary -cam 20 operating eight levers21 mounted on shafts 22 supported under the tab-le. Springs 23 areconnected from the levers 21 to arms 24 which reciprocate acorresponding number of vertical rods 25.

The arm 24 is provided with a stop 26 coming against the end surface ofthe arm or lever 21 so that the downward movement of the lever 21 aboutthe shaft 22 will positively force the rod 25 upwardly, but it will comedown yieldingly in accordance of the brush supwith the operation ofthespring 23 as the cam permits it to move down. n

The'rod 25 passes through a guide tube 27 fixed on the table, one ofcourse'for each of' the plates 18, and at the top 1t is provided with asplit head 2.8 secured to 1t by clamping bolt 29 or the hke. This headsupports two shafts 30 and 3l. The shaft 3() carries an operating gear32 and a pinion 33. When this ear 32 is operated by means to be descried hereinafter it rotates the pinion and consequently the gear 34mounted on the shaft 31. This gear 1s provided with ball bearingsbetween its surface and that of a hub 35 carried by the split head 28and is fixed with respect to the can rotating head 36 below, which isprovided with a depression in its lower surface in which is a rubberdisk 37 for engaging the top ot the can. This. therefore, causes the canto rotate when held between the plate and the disk 37 provided the gear32 is rotated.

A pair of springs 38 on the top of the split head project over the gear32 and apply a yielding friction to prevent its spinning or getting outof place. This tends to keep the gear in position to properly mesh withthe rack every time it comes around. The dotted lines in Fig. 4 indicatethe position to which these parts rise when the cam 20 forces them up.

When the can is deposited on one of these plates 18 as shown at thebottom of Fig. 1 the cam 20 will act to allow the springs 23 and 38 toyieldingly force the rod 25 and the head 28 down on the can as shown inFig. 4 and hold the can firmly in position. At the same time the labelholder 39 comes up through a slot in the table and engages the label aswe have shown in our prior patents.

The parts above described constitute some minor improvements over ourprior patents as for example that on a labeling machine, No. 1,272,670,patented July 16, 1918, but the main feature of this invention lies int-he wiping of the label around the can. This is accomplished by theprovision of a station` ary frame 41 supported adjacent the table andprovided with a casing 42 through which the cans pass in their travelaround with the table. Inside this casing there is a rack 43 concentricwith the path of the cans and located in position t`o engage the gear 32as the can comes into the casing and turn the gear and therefore the canduring the passage of the same through the casing. The can turns on itsown axis as indicated in Fig. 2.

For the purpose of making use of this movement -to apply the label thelatter, preferably moistened by immersion or other- Wise, is appliedacross the path of the moving can by means of a label picking device 44in the position indicated at A in Fig. 2. It will benoted that the labelis not centrally located with respect to the can. The can then comes,along in the direction of the arrow. The label holder 39 swings up intoposition just after the can has engaged the label and then the can movesalon through position B to osition C. While still in that position theabel comes into contact with two stationary brushes 59 and 69 which, bythe continued motion of the can aroundv the table, wipe down the shortend and partially wipe back the long end of the label. When the can getsto position D the gear 32 comes into contact with the rack 43 and thecan begins to rotate on its own axis as indicated by the curved arrow.Then 1t comes into contact with a brush 66 which is curved in itsgeneral form. The label holder 39 swings down out of the way, and thecan passes to the position E where the label is entirely wrapped aroundit, and then to the position F where it leaves the wiping devices enstirely. Then it proceeds in the usual way until the rod 25 is raised andthe can taken off the table by the turret 13. In order to wipe back theoverlapping end of the label if 1t should be loosened, a stationarybrush is located near the point of discharge.

The rack 43 is shown as vmovably supported to prevent breaking it if agear ap proaches in such a position as not to mesh with it. For thispurpose it has a rolling pivotal motion about the convex surface of aprojection 44 on the support. A pair of bolts 45 passing through thisprojection with a clearance are ixed to one end of the rack. The otherend of the rack has a Screw 46 fixed to it, the head of which is locatedbehind a flange on the support and acts as a stop. A spring forces itout yieldingly so that it the gear does not strike it in the rightposition it can move back against the spring and then come forwardimmediately into operative position.

The brush 66 is supported from the stand 41 or from the casing` 42 by abracket 47 having a horizontal shaft or stud 48 on which swings a frame49. This frame can be adjusted to any desired angle by a pair ofadjusting screws 50 as will be obvious and it is fixed in` adjustedposition by a set screw 51. The frame 49 carries a rod 52 which carriesa second frame 53 having screws 50 and 51 for adjusting and holding abrush back 54 in the same manner as above, the adjustment beingeffective about a shaft or stud 55 carried by the frame 53. This brushback 54 carries an arc-shaped plate 58 on which is supported a pluralityof blocks 56, each having bristles constituting the curved brush 66.These blocks are individually held by Maasai dsti-tute the casing forthe brush and they are ticles to be labeled having bent inwardly attheir edges to hold the bristles together and prevent their separatlngwidely. y,

The stationary brush 59 which has been mentioned is also supported onthe casing from a bracket 60 which has passages for a rod 61 -which isheld in position by set screws 62. This rod is provided with an offset63 so that it can be turned as may be desired to adjust the brushproperly to perform its above described function. The brush is mountedon this Offset and is pros vided with a "clip at 64 for preventing the iupper bristles from being permanently bent upwardly.

In the above description we have indicated the operation of the devicereferring to Fig. 2 and it will not be necessary to repeat thatdescription, but it is sufficient to say that according to this devicethe labels are applied to the cans or the like 1n a non central positionand the short ends brushed down by a stationary brush.. Then each can isgiven a rotation on its own axis which causes the long end of the labelto be brushed down as the can passes along the surface of the curvedbrush 66.

The label wiping operation therefore is performed solely by stationarywipers onaccount of the motion of the can itself, and the object is toensure the wiping of the label entirely around the article to helabeled, but it does not necessarily have to be a can or even anarticleof cylindrical-form. We can apply this operation to labels which are inthe so-called dry state, that is, wet only by -the paste which issupplied to them or to labels which have been wet before they yareapplied to the can to facilitate the wiping action. This causes them toshrink slightly when they dry and thus smooth them out on the surface towhich lthey are applied. They can be wet additionally by moistening thebrushes if desired. For this purpose a water receptacle 67 is located onthe casing. It is shown as having two valve `controlled drip pipes 68for moistening the curved brush.

Although -we have illustrated and described only a single form oftheinvention we are aware of the fact that many modifications can be madetherein by any person skilled in the art without departing from thescope of the invention as expressed in the claims. v

Therefore, we do not wish to be limited to all the details ofconstruction 'herein shown and vdescribed or to the particularA type oflabeling machine towhich we have shown the invention as being applied,but

what we do claim is Vl. In a labeling machine, the combination ofahorizontal traveling support fd/r the ara horizontal rotary platemounted thereon capable of rotating on its own vertical axis forsupporting an article to 'be labeled, means bodily movable with saidsupport for clamping theI 2. In a labeling machine, the combinationwithl a carrier for the articleA to be labeled, movable in a horizontallane, of a horizontal rotary plate mounte thereon capable of rotating onits own vertical axis for concentrically supporting an article to belabeled, means for turning the plate on its own vertical axis while ittravels horizontallycwith said carrier, and means for wiping a labelentirely around the article.

8. In a labeling machine, the combination with a support for the articleto be labeled, of means for supplying a label in .front of the articleand support with the major portion of the label on one side thereof,means vfor engaging the label and clamping it on the front surface ofsaid article at a point at one side of the center of the label, means onopposite sides ofthe support for wiping down the two ends of the label,and means on one side of the support for thereafter completing thewiping down of the long end of the label.

4. .In a labeling machine, the combination with a rotatable carrier forthe article to be labeled, of means for supplying a label in front ofthe article with the major portion of the label on one side thereof,means for engaging the label and clamping it on the article at a pointat one side of the center of the label, stationary means for engagingvthe short end of the label and-applying it to the article, andstationary means for hreafter wiping down the long end of the 5. In alabeling machine, the combination with a rotatable carrier for thearticle to be labeled, of means for supplying a label in front of thearticle with the major portion of the label o-n one side thereof, meansfor enga ing the label and clamping it on the artic e at a point at one-side of the center of the label, a fixed brush'on one side ofthearticle for engaging the short end of the label and wiping 1t dovvn asthe article passes'it, a fixed brush atanother point in the path of thearticle for engaging the long end of the label and wiping it down on thearticle, and means for moving the article relatively to the carrierWhile the label is in 6. In a labeling machine, the combina.-

tion'with a rotatable carrier for the article to be labeled, of meansorsupplying a label in front of the article, means for engaging thelabel and clamping it on the article, a fixed brush on one side of thearticle for engaging the end of the label and wiping it down as thearticle passes it, a fixedbrush at another point in the path of thearticle for engaging the other end of the label and wiping it down onthe article, and means for moving the article relatively to the carrierwhile theJabel is in engagement with the second brush to ensure thewrapping of the label entirely around the article.

7. In a labeling machine, the combination with a carrier for the`articlev to be labeled, a head adapted to be brought against thearticle to be labeled for holding the article, means for wiping a labelon the article, a vertically reciprocatin rod for controlling theposition of the hea astationary cam, a shaft adjacent to the cam, twoarms pivoted on said shaft and having abutments engaging each other,whereby when one of said arms is moved down the other will be raisedpositively, and yielding means for moving said other arm down when thefirst named arm is raised by the cam, the second arm bein connected withsaid rod.

8. gIn a labeling machine, the combination with a carrier for thearticle to be labeled, of means for turning the article on its own axisas it travels with said. carrier, and

means for wiping a label on the article while i turns, said turningmeans comprising an ar -sped `rack lyie dingly` pivoted to Aone end.

9, a labeling machine, the combination with a carrier for the article tobe labeled, y

an arc-shaped rack located in stationary povsition', a gear carried bythe carrier for engaging said rack, gearing connected with saidgear, ahead connected with the gearing and adapted to be brought down on thearticleto be 'labeled for turning the article, means for wiping a labelon the article as it turns2 a vertically reciprocating. rod forcontrolling-the position of the head, a sta. i

labeled, of means for turning the article on therefrom, said bristlesbeing arranged with tiouary cam under the table, ashaft adjacent v tothe cam, two arms pivoted on said shaft 10. In a labeling machine, thecombina f tion with a carrier for the article to be its own axis as ittravels with said carrier, a fixed support, a horizontal shaft carriedthereby, a frame mounted to swing on said shaft, adjusting screws foradjusting said frame with respect to the shxah, and a brush 'supported bsaid'frame fo wiping a label on the artic e while it turns l1. In alabeling machine, the combination with a carrier for the article to belabeled, of means for turning the article onI its own axis as it travelswith lsaid carrier, an adjustably mounted brush back, a plurality ofindependently mounted blocks carried thereby, each having bristlesprojecting their ends in the arc of a circle for wiping a label onthearticle while it turns, and a casing engaging'the upper and lowersurfaces of the bristles and holding them toof the label on onevsidevthereoi, means for 'engaging the label and clamping it on thearticle at a point at one side ofthe center of the label, means forengaging the longer.

vpart of the labeland swinging it back part way around the article, andmeans on opposite sides of said support for wiping down the two ends ofthe label.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto aiiixed our si atures. j

JO N EMANUEL JOHNSON.

CHARLES H. OSLUND.

